Opera House Block, Crookston

Although the Opera House Block was short-lived as a theater due to its hazardous second-floor auditorium, it was the center of entertainment in Crookston for more than fifteen years and hosted a historic 1895 lecture by American humorist Mark Twain. The Opera House Block burned down due to undetermined causes in 1987.

In 1884, Crookston was quickly expanding. It had been incorporated as a town just five years earlier, but residents had already built their first opera house. The Crookston Dramatic Company’s performance of The Streets of New York was the inaugural act when the opera house opened in June. The town buzzed with excitement about the new access to culture and entertainment. But questions about the quality of the space and its management soon filled the newspapers, and the opera house was sold shortly thereafter.

In 1890, the town decided that a new opera house was needed and Thomas H. Bjoin stepped up to make it happen. Bjoin was a former alderman who worked in the livery and machinery business. He decided to erect a building the size of a full block on South Main Street.

Designed by J. W. Ross of Grand Forks, North Dakota, the Opera House Block was made of solid brick with brown stone trimmings. Interior frescos and papier-mâché decorations surrounded the boxes, stage, and balcony. Hand-painted sets included a street, garden, horizon, chambers, and prison. The auditorium held 785 patrons between the floor, dress circle, balcony, and boxes. The unique design placed the 56-by-100-foot auditorium on the second floor of the building, allowing room for ground level retail space. Over the years, businesses included a restaurant, furniture store, grocery store, shooting gallery, and saloon.

On April 13, 1891, the “city’s magnificent thespian temple” opened with a performance of Faust by the Hess Grand Opera Company. Ticket prices ranged from one to five dollars. Crookston’s mayor dedicated the new space and praised Bjoin for bringing such a high level of art and culture to Crookston.

The opera house was a popular attraction, hosting touring concerts and plays from around the country. Its shining moment was in 1895, when a large audience turned up to hear the humorist Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. Twain was on a tour of the country by train and stopped in Crookston on July 29. He spoke to a large crowd for an hour and a half, sharing stories from his many published works.

Management changed hands multiple times, with promises of renovations and improved acts at each turnover. By 1903, only twelve years after the block’s opening, discussions about building a better facility were already in the news. In 1904, city officials inspected the opera house and noted concerns with the wiring and fire escapes, particularly due to the auditorium’s unusual spot on the second floor. The fire chief called it “one of the biggest fire traps in the city.”

In the fall of 1907, the curtains closed on the opera house for good. The city discovered that it did not comply with fire laws and the cost to appropriately renovate was beyond the owner’s ability.

The city didn’t go long without a proper opera house, however, as the community rallied together around the “imperative” project of a new venue. On November 8, 1910, that new opera house became a reality. It still stands in 2017 and operates as the Grand Theatre.

Over the years, the Opera House Block remained a large presence on Main Street and housed stores, offices, and apartments. But on the night of March 11, 1987, the ninety-seven-year-old building went down in “a spectacular blaze.” Firefighters from three cities fought the large fire, which could be seen from ten miles away. No one was injured, but the building was destroyed and many people lost their homes. One of Crookston’s iconic buildings, which received a designation on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, was suddenly just an ice-covered façade.

The final report stated that the fire started in the boiler room, and tests showed that there were no unusual substances present at the time. But the cause of the fire was still undetermined and classified as “suspicious,” leaving residents with plenty of questions about the fate of the historic Opera House Block.